Dialogues with the sea

The research project arises from two needs: a scientific and research towards intangible heritage, in this case oral, and a second, the need to document the maritime oral memory, expressed by the maritime community, closest to the Maritime Museum of Mallorca.

This voice is essential for this testimony to be documented by the Maritime Museum, as manifested in the various meetings held between the management of the museum and its community, and as thus collected in the first Jornades d'Estudis de la Mar.

From the Museu Marítim de Mallorca we understand that it is essential to work on new discourses, where people linked to the world of the sea have an active role in the generation of knowledge. From this perspective, we wanted to know our maritime heritage through a series of groups that, over the years, have built a social and cultural link with the sea.

We speak, in this sense, of a heterogeneous maritime community, made up of different voices (men and women), united by a collective memory and a tradition around the world of the sea, generated through knowledge, shared practices and relationships with the landscape. Listening to their testimonies allows us to value a whole set of traditional knowledge related to our maritime heritage and that are representative of our history as islanders. At the same time, his story is important to understand this type of heritage as a living and constantly changing tradition.

We speak, therefore, of a tangible and intangible heritage of which we are all responsible for the preservation and dissemination. Therefore, it is essential to give a voice in the maritime community to understand and reflect on our relationship as a society with the world of the sea.

The research has been structured through interviews directed at different groups:

• Latin sailing: this section is part of a possible declaration of lateen sailing as an asset of intangible cultural interest (BICIM) by the Government of the Balearic Islands, initiated by the Council of Mallorca. In this process we understood that it was important to listen to the people who have been an active part in the conservation of this type of heritage and who over the years have developed different strategies to connect Latin sailing with our society.
• Masters boatbuilders
• Maritime community

The research carried out by Ariana Domínguez García implies understanding that objects contain stories, have memory and, furthermore, construct stories in their daily relationship with people. To delve into the story that surrounds the pieces, oral history has been used as the main analysis tool, a methodology that has allowed us to contemplate a great variety of phenomena that surround the everyday life of objects.

With this scenario, she wanted to work from three axes: deciphering the biography of the objects and connecting it with the biography of the authors, investigating the importance in their socio-historical context and reflecting on the process of heritage of the piece.